A StarNewsOnline Blog

The emporium for all things literary

Issue 24 of Ecotone is out, on the theme of “Craft,” and leading off is a short story by Lumberton’s own Jill McCorkle, “The Lineman.” The story follows a divorced dad in the sandwich generation, who longs for the days of rotary phones and stereo speakers as large as coffins, who’s coping both with a wild teenaged daughter and a mother who’s slowly fading out in a nursing home. McCorkle, who now lives in Hillsborough and teaches at Bennington, is… Read More »

About This Blog

This is an emporium for all things literary: occasional book reviews, local book news, items about authors (mostly from the Cape Fear area but occasional visitors) and miscellaneous rants.

The usual author is Ben Steelman, feature writer and book columnist for the Star-News. He’s that shaggy, slightly smelly character you spot lurking in the back aisles of your local bookstore. Physically, he has more than a passing resemblance to Ignatius J. Reilly, hero of John Kennedy Toole’s “A Confederacy of Dunces” — some observers have noted other parallels as well.